Area group behind release of salmon into Pillar Point Harbor

Updated 6:08 pm, Saturday, May 31, 2014

Photo: Mark Gorelnik

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Members of the Coastside Fishing Club watch juvenile salmon released into a net pen in Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. 130,000 six-inch salmon were trucked from a hatchery in Northern California to the harbor last week to avoid water diversions, pumps and water quality issues. A total of 360,000 juvenile fish will be released at the harbor this summer, among 12 million trucked down this year. Tthe fish will get acclimated to their new home, and then venture out to the ocean, where they can grow and inch and pound per month.

Members of the Coastside Fishing Club watch juvenile salmon released into a net pen in Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. 130,000 six-inch salmon were trucked from a hatchery in Northern California to the

Some people look into crystal balls to tell the future. At Half Moon Bay last week, anglers instead gazed into the sea.

They watched thousands of baby salmon pour out a chute from a tanker truck parked on the pier, and then into submerged net pens in the harbor.

Some 130,000 salmon were released, the first of three deliveries that will total 360,000 juvenile fish this summer. In a program run by volunteers with the Coastside Fishing Club, the fish will get acclimated to their new home, and then when ready, venture out into Pillar Point Harbor and the ocean.

Once at sea, they can grow an inch and pound per month, and in two years, approach 15 to 20 pounds.

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It is part of a program this year in which 12 million fish are being trucked from hatcheries to the lower delta and coast and released in submerged net pens.

It is one of the great victories for salmon in the Bay Area and Northern California. If the fish were released from the hatchery up north, estimates range that 90 percent or more would die in their attempt to swim 300 miles to the ocean.

Unscreened water pumps, massive water diversions and reverse flows in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta can send the baby fish straight into the delta pumps. While en route, they would have to pass areas upriver where there is high predation from squawfish and poor water quality from wastewater plants near Sacramento.

The Coastsiders, as they are best known, pay for the pens, food and tags for each fish released at Pillar Point Harbor, located at Princeton north of Half Moon Bay.

During Tuesday's release, the feeder went off, and fish pellets scattered across the pen. The surface exploded in a white froth as the young salmon ignited in a feeding frenzy.

The nets include stages with varied mesh size for the small smolts, and also to keep out marine birds, sea lions and other predators.

This is the third year for the program. In the past two years, 180,000 and 420,000 salmon were released from the net pens.

"The Coastside Fishing Club is an all-volunteer California nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the recreational fishing experience for all Californians," said Coastside President Dan Wolford.

At Yosemite

Openings: White Wolf Campground, located on Tioga Road at 8,000 feet, opened Friday for the season. That means the Tuolumne Meadows, Porcupine Flat, Bridalveil Creek and Yosemite Creek campgrounds will open soon, with a good chance that those in the know can snag an early date before sites go on the reservation system.

Bears: Bears have been active in the Yosemite Valley, going from campsite to campsite each night in the past week. In one case, the campers saw a bear, got scared out of their wits, and abandoned all their food, reported Caitlin Lee-Roney - basically, "Here ya go, just don't eat me."

Lions: Mountain lions, even when prolific, are rarely seen, but lions were sighted last week near the Housekeeping Camp in Yosemite Valley, in El Portal near the trailer court, and near the Wawona Campground.

At Tahoe

Sand Harbor shuttle: In response to Monday's story about the shuttle bus from Incline Village to Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe's pre-eminent kayak spot, Jim Shepherdadded a note that bus service is also available on weekends from Meadowood Mall and Summit Mall in Reno for $5.

Triple Crown: A rattlesnake at Arastradero Preserve in the foothills of Stanford, a bobcat at Año Nuevo State Reserve, and a bald eagle engaged in a midair skirmish with a red-tailed hawk at the Highway 92 causeway at Crystal Springs made for a quite a week for Troy Pittock. "First rattlesnake I've ever seen in the wild."

First flight: At Lafayette Community Park, Kristin Glickmanand other locals have been watching a big mama hawk raise two juveniles in the past month. Being able to take in the trial-and-error, staggered flight of a young hawk, eagle or owl (which grow fast and get big before they fly) is one of the great scenes of nature.

Chabot eagle: The bald eagle at Lake Chabot is creating quite a stir, with longtime field scouts Ned MacKayand Shelly Lewis the latest to see it, last weekend.

Rim Fire, cont.

Cherry Lake: I was in Groveland (Tuolumne County) the other day, dropping in for an update on access to Cherry Lake, and the official word is the road in will be closed to the public all year while crews remove hazard trees left in the aftermath of the last summer's Rim Fire.

No word: And still no word on the identity of the person who caused it and what ramifications could await.

Outdoor notes

Hat Creek: The dream to restore Lower Hat Creek into a great fly-fishing stream once again is the goal of a $1.3 million, three-year project run by the organization California Trout. For information, go to www.caltrout.org and click on "Hat Creek Restoration Project."

Sunday Getaway: After last week's Sunday Drive detailed the Briones to Diablo Trail, field scout Gary Farbernoted two good parking options if the Hanna Lane Trailhead is full (no formal parking or restroom): Borges Ranch at nearby Shell Ridge Open Space or the south end of Castle Rock Road (also nearby, Castle Rock Recreation Area).

Sequoia openings: Crystal Cave, which has one of the best of the cavern tours, opened last week, along with Cold Springs Campground, a week early due to no snow. Information: www.nps.gov/seki.

Will need every vote: Insider polls show that Measure AA, the proposal to re-fund the Midpeninsula Open Space District, is trailing, with a 67 percent yes vote required to pass. Details of how the money would be spent are listed at www.openspace.org.

S.F. fifth for fitness: San Francisco ranked fifth for fitness and San Jose sixth among the nation's major cities, according to the American College of Sports Medicine: 1. Washington, D.C.; 2. Minneapolis; 3. Portland, Ore.; 4. Denver; 5. San Francisco; 6. San Jose; 7. Seattle; 8. San Diego; 9. Boston; 10. Sacramento.

The continuing saga: After a local protest, San Mateo County is scaling back the number of gorgeous old-growth cypress trees proposed to be cut down from the bluffs of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach.

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